Very Fine, Rare.

Extremely Fine, Extremely Rare.

Akbar issued a series of coins from Agra mint dated in Ilahi 47 and 48 which bear denominational terms in the legends. 'Rupaya', 'Darb' and 'Charan' corresponding to one, half and quarter rupee denominations are known. These terms are corroborated by Abu'l Fazal in his descriptive account of Akbar's kingdom and governance, the Ain-i-Akbari. By far, this is the earliest mention of the name 'Rupaya' on a coin and the series is thus historically significant providing a numismatic context to the denomination which subsequently grew to become the 'international currency' of the Indian Ocean region and now remains the national coin denomination of India. So far, the earliest instance of a coin bearing the word 'Rupaya' was from the Ashmolean Museum collection, which is dated Khurdad 47. But here we have a coin which precedes this by a month - Ardibihisht being the month before Khurdad – and thus replaces the Ashmolean coin in being the earliest instance of the use of the word 'Rupaya' on a coin. All coins with the word 'Rupaya' included in the legend (we know of Khurdad, Shahrewar and Di for the year 47 and Farwardin and Ardibihisht for the year 48) have it as the last line in reverse legend, just below the mint-name. However, this coin has it at the top. Both these aspects make it a really significant coin..

About Extremely Fine, Very Rare.

Very Fine, Very Rare.

Very Fine+, Very Rare.

Towards the end of Akbar's reign his trusted general Raja Man Singh of Amber was appointed the governor of Bengal to quell the rebellion of 'Isa Khan, a powerful Bengali Muslim landholder who had been challenging Mughal authority in East Bengal for some while. In the course of his campaign, Man Singh captured Dhaka in 1602 and made it into his base. He lived in Dhaka till early 1605, when he knew of Akbar's last illness and moved back to Agra. Akbar died on 27th October 1605 corresponding to 14 Jumada-II, Ah1014. This coin is dated AH1015 which begins almost seven months later, so should be regarded as a posthumous issue in Akbar's name.

About Extremely Fine, Very Rare.

About Extremely Fine, Very Rare.

Very Fine+, Rare.

Very Fine, Very Rare.

Extremely Fine, Very Rare.

This coin, bearing the usual 'Ilahi' legends of Akbar's coinage of that type, has the word 'Sitpur' written in a curious way which makes it read 'Saimur'. 'Saimur' was the ancient Arabic name of the seaport of Chaul on the Konkan coast so some early numismatists attributed these coins to Chaul. However, when the coins were struck the name 'Saimur' had fallen out of fashion for a long time and Chaul was firmly in control of the Nizam Shahi Sultanate. The additional word 'Darb' which was the denominational term for a half Rupee is also interesting to have appeared on a full Rupee coin.

Very Fine+, Very Rare.

Very attractive, Very Fine+, Very Rare.

About Very Fine, Very Rare.

About Extremely Fine, Extremely Rare.

About Extremely Fine, Extremely Rare.

Extremely Fine, Extremely Rare.

Very Fine+, Extremely Rare.

With dotted border, Superb and Very attractive, About Extremely Fine, Extremely Rare.

Extremely Fine, Very Rare in this grade.

About Very Fine, Exceedingly Rare.

(The words 'Jahangir' and 'Allahu Akbar' are equal in value till the Day of Judgement) One of the most interesting of Jahangir's coins were his portrait issues which by his own admission were given to his acolytes as a special gift which they can 'wear on their turbans or sashes' to show that they had been graced by Imperial favour. During 1615-1619, Jahangir moved his court to Ajmer for three years and this coin was struck in that period. The portrait on obverse shows Jahangir holding up a goblet – described by many numismatists to be a wine goblet, thus showing the Emperor in fond attachment to his favourite affliction, yet a total heretic in view of the tenets of Islam. The legend surrounding him mentions 'fate' or 'destiny' which is a strong indication of the king's belief in fatalism and the might of 'destiny' in shaping the kingly fortune. On 26thAban of his RY9, he makes an entry in his diary that upon entering the city of Ajmer a mystic came unto him and informed him that words 'Jahangir' and the 'Supreme Name' or Ism-i-'Azam ('Allahu Akbar') add up to the same total according to the tenets of the 'Abjad' system, which applies numerical value to each letter in the alphabet. “Considering this a good omen”, Jahangir writes, “I gave the discoverer of this coincidence land, a horse, cash and clothing”. Exactly the same sentiment of equivalence is invoked in the couplet on the reverse. On 9thAmardad of the same year, Jahangir describes a strange illness that overtook him and made him beseech the intervention of Khwaja Mu'eenuddin Chishti, the patron saint lying at rest in Ajmer, to cure him. The prayers worked and when recovered, Jahangir's veneration for the Sufi saint grew tremendously. In proclaiming his servitude to the Khwaja, he publicly got his ears pierced and held the ceremony of his weighment against precious metals which were then distributed in charity. The invocation Ya Mu'een seen on the reverse of the coin suggests a close connection between the issue of these coins and this event. In all likelihood the coins were struck soon after this episode when the Emperor held his court after his recovery. This would also explain the reference to 'destiny' in the verse on obverse.

Extremely Fine, Extremely Rare.

The birds on both sides of this coin are locked in 'hunt' in terms of design context. The falcon on the obverse swoops, with his wings close to his body to prey on the quail, shown cowering among the letters on the reverse. The spread-out talons of the falcon, ready to grasp the quail, are very clearly shown under his belly. The design might have had a connotation with Mughal campaigns against the Nizam Shahi Sultanate.

Very Fine, Extremely Rare.

Irajpur' was a Islamicate version of 'Elichpur'. The epithet 'al-Zarb' does not appear on any other issues of Jahangir but it is known on coins of Ujjain and Bang mint of Akbar.

Very Fine+, Extremely Rare.

The exact location of the mint is uncertain but the coin shows executional similarities with issues of Bharmalji of Kachch in the name of Jahangir. The coin also has a curious mark to the right of the mint-name. PL Gupta has suggested the mint-name to be 'Hapur' and earlier numismatists had read it as 'Jalesar'.